Sunday 26th October 2013

Played at Kennys Sports Bar, Stafford.

SEMI-FINALS

Bear & Pheasant  3 - 4  Perkins Cue

Metro Bar A  4 - 2  Kennys Redbull

Perkins Cue came through a tough Semi Final match against the Bear & Pheasant to reach their 5th consecutive Summer Final. Mike Barker and Rob Wharne won in the 1st half for the Cuemen, as did Andy Rawlinson and Richard East (with a fine win over Martin Priestley) for the Bear & Pheasant. The start of the 2nd half saw Mike Barker pull off a fine clearance against Rawlinson after the latter went in-off on the break shot, then Jim Simpson claimed a famous scalp over Wharne to level it at 3-3. Dave Barker was drawn against Giles Eastwood in the decider and, after a dry break from the Bear man, Barker pulled off a great 8-ball clearance to win the tie 4-3 for the Cuemen.

Metro Bar A reached the Final for the first time with a hard fought win over Kennys Redbull. Wins for Roy Brown, Paul Shepherd and Andy Palin gave the Metro a 3-1 lead, with Paul Loughead replying for the Redbull. The start of the 2nd half saw Robbie Jenkinson claim a win over Alan Farrow to pull another one back for the Redbull, but the experience of Shepherd saw him overcome the challenge of Al Sim and put the Metro Bar through to the final, winning 4-2.

 SUMMER LEAGUE MAIN KNOCKOUT FINAL

Perkins Cue v Metro Bar A

FRAME ONE - Mike Barker (Cue) was drawn against Paul Shepherd (Metro) and Barker was in great from his Semi Final as was Shepherd. Barker started strongly with some fine potting but a missed chance put Shep back in and after an exchange of tactical snookers, it was Shep who took his chance to put the Metro Bar 1-0 up.

FRAME TWO - England International Rob Wharne (Cue) was drawn against Roy Brown (Metro). This was an important frame as Wharne set his mark with an intention to clear. However he fell short with 2 balls to go and Brown tactically pulled himself back into the frame. Wharne then turned the frame back in his favour with an excellent pot on his last red and then potted the black to level the scores 1-1. 

FRAME THREE - Dave Barker (Cue) was drawn against Andy Palin (Metro). Palin broke and soon got a stranglehold in the frame. Barker had to change his approach and gradually worked himself back into the frame with some astute and tactical shots. A mistake by Palin let Barker in and he then cleared the table to put the Cuemen 2-1 up.

FRAME FOUR - Dave Whitfeld (Cue) was drawn against Dave Ashton (Metro). Whitfield broke and went in off the break. This put Ashton in control and he gradually stopped Whitfield in his tracks. However, a snooker gave the latter an opportunity, but a missed positional shot by Whitfield let Ashton in and he looked as though he was going to level the scores. A fine cut in the middle by Ashton went astray and Whitfield siezed the moment to pot the black and put the Cuemen 3-1 up.

FRAME FIVE - Dave Barker was paired against Paul Shepherd at the start of the 2nd half of the Final and it was a crucial frame for the Metro Bar. Shepherd broke and went for the clearance - and it was looking good until he lost position. Barker was back in but struggled to gain the initiative and, with some good counter attacking pool, Shepherd siezed the opportunity and clinched the frame to pull it back to 3-2 down.

FRAME SIX - Rob Wharne was drawn against Alan Farrow and it was hit or bust for the latter. Wharne broke and put himself in a great position as it looked for certain he was going to secure the Cuemen the title with an 8-ball clearance. However, he uncharacteristically missed his penultimate pot and let Farrow back in. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to tie up the balls and Wharne jumped at the chance to pot his remaining balls and, to the delight of his teammates, secured the 6th Summer League title in 9 years for the Perkins Cue side.

FRAME SEVEN - This frame was to be played between Martin Priestley and Roy Brown but was not required.

Congratulations to Perkins Cue on their triumph as they achieved the 2012/13 Winter & 2013 Summer League Championship double - a fine achievement. Also, well done to the Metro Bar A who also achieved a 2012/13 3rd Division Title with some notable scalps (1st Div sides Kennys Tap & Kennys Redbull) along the way to the Summer League Final.